


How To Tame A Monster

by Hino



Category: Eddsworld - All Media Types
Genre: A headcanon I came up with ages ago and ran with, Gen, Monster Tom
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-30
Updated: 2016-10-30
Packaged: 2018-08-27 22:16:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8419315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hino/pseuds/Hino
Summary: The horns were receding, claws dulling, teeth growing. Normality was sinking back in, and Tom smiled, feeling his breathing exercises finally working.
 
The door slammed open.“Hey Tom, is that DVD in here?”
(Possibly a series)





	

**Author's Note:**

> Might be clunky, but I wrote it ages back and didn't wanna redo it  
> Might make it into a series

The apartment was too small like this.

 

His breathing was ragged and heavy, and part of him wondered how Matt hadn't heard him. He'd changed again, back into that thing, with barely enough self control to not rampage through the place. Purple horns scratched at the ceiling, and every time Tom felt himself shifting his balance, the floor under him creaked and groaned.

He felt fearful. On edge. He needed to calm down, just relax and-

  


“Hey Tom,” Matt’s voice called as the door to the apartment opened. “Do you have Insane Zombie Pirates 6?”

Tom tensed, hearing every step that Matt took in the living room. It put him on edge, and the fact he didn't seem to be waiting for a response made the situation worse.

“N-No.” He spoke, but his words were a distorted growl, deep and rumbling, shaking the thin apartment.

Matt paused. “Is that you Tom?”

“No,” Tom answered, firmer this time.

“Alright!” 

It sounded like Matt was grinning, and there was the sound of him rifling through Tom’s very carefully sorted DVD collection. He inwardly groaned, and focused on himself. Calm, deep breaths. He could do this. _He could do this._

The horns were receding, claws dulling, teeth growing. Normality was sinking back in, and Tom smiled, feeling his breathing exercises finally working.

The door slammed open.

“Hey Tom, is that DVD in here?”

“Get out!”

  


There was a panicked scream, and as Tom found his vision clearing, he saw Matt flat on his ass, trying to scramble away. His overcoat was torn, and the stitching had come loose on his hood, creating tiny, thin tears in the material. Strands of lavender purple cloth stuck to his claws, and Tom looked at it, shaking.

Matt seemed to regain his senses, getting to his feet and pointing at the monster. “You ate Tom, didn’t you?” 

The creature shook its head. _I am Tom, you bloody ginger mess_

“Spit him out you foul beast, or I’ll have to make you!” Matt wound up his arm, fist clenched and expression set. Had Tom not been the one about to be attacked, he would have found the worry and concern genuinely touching. Instead, it was irritating, and as Matt charged forward, Tom tried to think of some way he could stop him.

In a panic, he reached out his hand, and Matt slammed right into it.

 

It left him dazed, and Tom took that chance to lift the ginger man up and set him on the bed. His horns scraped the roof as he turned, but that was the least of his concerns, as the shock seemed to fade away from Matt’s mind.

“Oh my god don’t eat me!” he screeched the moment his senses came back to him. Tom just stared blankly and gave a noncommittal grunt. Basic sounds, and the word “No” were possible in this form, but everything else pretty much fell apart. He supposed it was the weird animalistic instincts that came over him when he shifted. Right now, it was taking all he had to not just lash out, or run away.

“You’re not going to eat me?” Matt asked. Tom shook his head, paint peeling from the ceiling as his horns scraped against the surface. “Do you know where Insane Zombie Pirates 6 is?”

Tom pointed a clawed finger towards the chest of drawers opposite the bed. Matt took a moment, looking from the hand, to the space, and back again, before attempting to crawl over and look. It sat there, still fresh in its wrapping, waiting.

“Cool!” Matt swept it up and turned back to face the monster. “Thanks!” His gleeful expression fell however, eyes widening. “Did you get that knowledge because you ate Tom? I’m gonna kill you! For Tom!”

  


The roar that came in response shook the room and made Matt’s hair stand on end. The ginger stared, stunned into silence, and Tom felt proud. He shuffled slightly, lowering himself closer to the ground while Matt blinked, trying to regain his senses. He looked down at Tom, staring straight into his eye, and frowned.

“That’s rude!”

It was such an out of place answer. Tom stared back for a moment before a laugh escaped him. Another followed, and soon enough he was cackling, clawed hands wrapped around himself as he lost himself in the humour of the situation. Matt only watched as the beast writhed on the floor, laughing as if he’d told the perfect joke.

With each moment, Tom felt himself calming down despite the laughter shaking his body. Claws receded, horns shortened, and everything seemed to scale down to appropriate size. By the time he managed to reign in his amusement, he was back to normal, giggling softly on the floor. Tears in his eyes, Tom looked up to see Matt watching him with evident confusion.

“Oh, hey,” he managed to say, voice only wavering in the slightest. “You alright?”

Matt only grinned. “The monster let you go!” he said, sounding far happier than Tom had expected. Before he knew what was happening, Matt had swept him up and was holding him in a tight hug. “I was worried you were gone forever!”

Tom held his arms out awkwardly for a moment before bringing them in, giving Matt a hug in return. “I’m still here,” he said, making sure to sound disappointed and annoyed. “So you can let go of-”  
The front door slammed open, startling both of the men. Backing out into the hallway, they caught sight of Edd, looking around the apartment frantically.

 

“I heard a roar!” he explained, rushing forward to meet them. The ripped fabric on Matt’s hoodie got his attention immediately, and Edd rushed to check it. Tom quickly looked at his nails, pulling away the strand that had gotten caught and tossing it aside. “Are you alright?”

An enthusiastic nod. “There was a monster, and he told me where the DVD was, but he’d eaten Tom, but then Tom fought his way out and the monster left!” Matt answered with his cheery tone, holding out the movie for proof. Edd sighed in relief, grabbing both men by the wrist and tugging them along. “It was so cool!”

Tom looked to Matt, question on his tongue but it vanished as the ginger winked at him, still grinning the way he always did. It made the concerns evaporate, and Tom found himself smiling back.

  


“It was pretty cool,” he agreed.


End file.
